PATNA: AMID the ongoing seat-sharing talks within the Opposition INDIA bloc for the upcoming Bihar assembly elections, Rashtriya Janata Dal (RJD) leader Tejashwi Prasad Yadav sparked controversy by declaring that the RJD would contest all 243 seats.
Addressing a public gathering in Muzaffarpur late on Saturday evening, Tejashwi said, “We will return. Understand this, You all have to stay united, and this time, Tejashwi will contest elections on 243 seats. Whether it is Kanti, Muzaffarpur, or Gaighat, Tejashwi will contest elections from every place.”
“This government, which has been in power for 20 years, which works to spread communal violence, has to be ousted,” he said.
Tejashwi’s remarks are being seen in political circles as a pressure tactic at a time when seat sharing talks within INDIA bloc are stuck. However, RJD spokesperson Mritunjay Tiwari downplayed Tejashwi’s remarks, and said he meant to say that elections would be contested under his (Tejashwi’s) leadership.
“So, he will contest all seats.” Tejashwi’s remarks would not impact the alliance as INDIA bloc candidates would be fielded on all 243 seats under Tejashwi’s leadership. “It should not be read beyond that,” Tiwari said, adding that INDIA bloc was intact.
Seat sharing negotiations in INDIA bloc have got trickier with the possible entry of Jharkhand chief minister Hemant Soren ’s Jharkhand Mukti Morcha (JMM) and former union minister Pashupati Paras’s Rashtriya Lok Janshakti Party (RLJP).
Launching a blistering attack on the state’s NDA government, Tejashwi at the workers’ event said that businessmen were being kidnapped and killed daily in the state, and corruption had reached its peak, with the poor being exploited from local police stations to the state headquarters.
Earlier this week, AICC in-charge of Bihar Krishna Allavaru suggested that RJD should show more flexibility in seatsharing deal. Sources said Congress wants to contest 70 seats that it fought in the 2020 elections, while RJD is ready to offer it 52 seats.
Among NDA allies, Jitan Ram Manjhi’s Hindustani Awam Morcha (HAM) has said it will contest 100 seats if it is not offered 15-20 seats in the upcoming election.